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My Pitmaster slept in one morning and I cooked our brisket upside down and scored a 180 - that was good, but....
Our 40th anniversay - 2012 Ameila Island - my wife and I cooked as Chicken Butt BBQ. It was the first competition on our Jambo (only the second time we cooked on it) and the first time we cooked by ourselves. We had a 5th ribs, 6th brisket and 5th overall out of 41 teams.
It wasn't winning the Jack or the Royal but it was a great experience!

I have been cooking contests for many, many years and have had a lot of awards and crowning achievements along the way only missing one illusive award, the GC. The last couple of years I have focused solely on hitting that GC and lost touch of what BBQ is about.To be honest, it wasn’t all that much fun. I needed a re-boot of sorts at the end of this year to purge my system of that insane desire. I say insane because I was not remembering why I started BBQ’ing in the first place. Having a great time with friends and making new ones. That’s what it’s all about. Awards are an object that sets on the self and collects dust. Friends are what have lasted these many years. The BBQ Family is the best and it grows larger every year.

I think for Dizzy Pig, this year may have been our biggest accomplishment. in 2005 and 2006 we won 8 or 9 grands just doing 10 contests a year. It was a sweet time. But it has been tough since then (hats off to teams like 3Eyz who are nailing it it a very tough time).

Anyways, this year, for the first time in ten years, we did well in both the Royal Open and the Invitational. Chicken calls both days, and overall scores very nice. I'm feeling that may be our coolest accomplishment.

How far do we want to take it??? We'd be happy to stay in the mix. No longer expecting multiple grands per year, but would make me complete just to be able to stay in the game. Tough job these days!

In 2011 I cooked Westmont's amateur rib comp agaist a field of roughly 40 teams. It was the second time I had ever cooked comps egged on by my kids. As they were calling the top ten they had finished the top 9 with first to be called and I looked over to my daughter and she looked back at me and said "you've got this dad", I was then called for the win. The win felt great but not half as good as knowing the support I had from my family and freinds that all stood in the rain to hear the results.

The following weekend I cooked my first pro comp in Willowbrook, Il. I was certainly over my head but had great support and guidence from my buddie Scottie. I had 3 calls with a 1st in ribs. 3rd place overall!!! I was truley taken back by that experience also. I had so many teams come by during that event and offer up support as many new it was my first event. Truely a great group of people.